The Heart and The Mind - Rishona Chopra

While making a decision, I often find myself being the judge in the court where the two opponents are 'the heart' and 'the mind'. The mind usually gives logical explanations, but the heart gives verdicts showing your inner laziness and desire. It becomes difficult to choose as both opponents have their reasons.

This time, I had to decide whether to go to school as it was sports, but my exams were around the corner, and I had to take a leave to revise my concepts. It was 6:15 in the morning, the rush hour, and I had only 45 minutes left before the bus arrived. I was making this tough decision - Shall I miss out on my favourite sports or do it while simultaneously revising. 

My heart told me to go to school because critical worksheets were supposed to happen, but my brain told me to take a leave and revise with a clear mind. Both points had equal importance and were entirely valid. I first decided to listen to the heart and wore my uniform, but just then, I got a brainwave and decided to listen to the brain. So I lay down on my bed thinking who would win this time. 

It was 6:30, and I had to make my final decision. Guess what I did? I listened to the heart and went to school, but the next day, I also took a leave to revise, so I gave a balance to both, and it was a win-win situation. 

The heart and the mind sit on a see-saw as we sit at the fulcrum, deciding who's decided to go with. Making decisions like this becomes confusing (for me, at least). The heart and the mind are simply two different opinions, and you must choose. It is vital to maintain a balance between the two and maintain peace. 

Rishona Chopra
Grade VII
Gyanshree School

The "Heart" VS " The Mind" - Mishu Gupta

The "Heart" VS " The Mind" is one of the most common dilemmas in decision-making. Especially when dealing with or making choices for our own life choices.

It is challenging to choose what is best for us rather than giving advice in somebody else's life. Example: Should I be attentive in class or get distracted?: and when we provide this advice to others, it seems right advice or suggestion that we are giving.

Sometimes our heart says something, and our mind says something.

Let's change our minds and even change again. Sometimes we make a quick decision to get out of that problem that we are facing but then in future. We also regret our quick decision and feel guilty about why we did that or if we should have done something else.

Yes, I have experienced the dilemma between the heart and mind during my exams. Solving those questions and many options are kept in our minds and hearts. Then, my heart says Choose option"A", but my mind says Choose option "B" because somewhere or the other, it is related to the topic. Therefore, it becomes challenging, and my conscience starts deafening to choose A or B. So we must be cautious and choose the correct option at that specific time.

Mishu Gupta

Pestalozzi Childrens' Village India

How can we develop self control? - Rishona Chopra

We all have our weaknesses and strengths; the most common fault is falling into the trap of peer pressure. 

We need to develop self-control. We first need to self-reflect on ourselves and know ourselves better. We need to analyze our strengths and weakness, understand our personal temptations, then make a chart and set daily goals on how we plan to avoid doing things that can harm us and tempt us. Setting daily goals soon turns into monthly goals and soon into habits.  

When we start to do this, we might feel lazy and tell ourselves, "Let me start tomorrow." But as said, what has to be done tomorrow must be done today, and what has to be done today must be done now. 

The problem arises when we start doing things due to peer pressure. We don't want to be the outcast and wish to fit in, but isn't it the outcast who shines the brightest?

We should know the adverse effects of whatever we do and the risks we take. People try to tempt us by showing us a few positive results and telling us how fun or cool it is. The definition of 'cool' is different for everyone. Smoking may be cool for someone, drinking may be cool for someone, studying may be cool for someone, and we cannot let our 'cool' be someone else's definition of 'cool'.

Sometimes, we need to trust our instinct and avoid people we believe are bad company. That doesn't mean we have to shut down all means of socialization, but we should do it to an appropriate extent. 

Often it helps to talk to your parent or a close person older than you and let your heart out and hear their opinion, but after all, we are not weak people who start following things just because people tease us. We need to be strong and have self-control over our minds.

Rishona Chopra
Grade VII
Gyanshree School

What is peer pressure and how can we deal with it? - Rishona Chopra

Peer pressure is the pressure we face from our peers to do something. It indirectly or directly affects us. Often we find ourselves pretending to fit in the crowd, so we start doing things and becoming people we are not. We lose our own identity just to make 'friends'. But friends who force you to do something or friends who you cannot be yourself around aren't really friends, are they?

Each of us has our own identity, which we are given for a reason because we all are unique, we put on a different persona, and it affects no one but us.  

Being with the right company matters a lot. One ripe apple kept with ten other rotten apples will soon rot too. It is better to be alone than with bad friends. 

Dealing with peer pressure, though, is quite a challenge. Often people try to bully us by telling us that we are 'not cool' and 'boring'. But we must remember that the right path is often alone, but being alone doesn't mean we must be lonely. Ignoring people like that is the best way. We need to have a calm and composed mind that knows what is right and wrong. We do what we do, and pressuring someone needs to be corrected. 

When we start ignoring all of this, people start bothering us because peer pressure that makes you do bad things is just to trouble you or force you towards the wrong path. 

While dealing with peer pressure, we might think, "everyone is doing this", or "what could be wrong with this?" but something correct is not what the majority does. People around us may TRY to have a strong influence on us but we have to be that one person who stands on the right path, whether alone or not. Their TRY must be a left a try only and be in vain. 

Because of peer pressure, we start feeling insecure about our own selves and doubting ourselves. All our choices and decisions seem to be made by others and their opinions, but it is OUR life, OUR choices, and they cannot be changed. People may give us good advice that we should always lend an ear to, but then again, there has to be a straight line between right and wrong, people you trust and don't. 

We may need friends at this age, even if that means pretending to do things they don't. It feels terrible when you have no one to sit with you, talk to you and a person you can share your thoughts with, but it's hard to find someone like that, with who you can be yourself ( apart from your parents, of course)!

Sometimes, I am in the impact of my peers. I know what they might be doing is wrong, but I just pretend to do what they do just so I can get along with them, but then you have to remember that you have higher goals in life. You have higher aspirations than pretending or changing yourself to make friends. 

Instead of finding company outside, we can be our own friends! No one knows us better than we do, and no one ever can! 

Rishona Chopra
Grade VII
Gyanshree School

Thoughts and Actions - Rishona Chopra

Karma as in what we do comes back to us. Whatever good we put out in the world, comes back to us. But is it only our actions that matter or is it also our thoughts? I can easily help somebody but it matters what I am thinking while doing so.

Karma should not be our idea of helping someone. Kindness should come from within. We might think we are fooling someone by pretending to hide our thoughts but we can't hide anything from ourselves. It is about the thoughts we have and our mind's consciousness that matters. Actions that come from the heart shine apart. 

If the thought is true the action comes out itself. If actions speak louder than words, thoughts speak louder than actions. 

Rishona Chopra
Grade VII
Gyanshree School

Pain Is Compulsory But Suffering Is An Option - Rishona Chopra

Pain is compulsory, it is a part of life and can't be changed, but do we let that pain affect our mind and turn it into suffering? Pain is the truth of life. It is something we can't change. There is a term that is used in Buddhism that is - 

Dukkha: Life is painful and causes suffering. Many people might say that Buddhism is pessimistic or negative.

The challenge is dealing with the pain. We let the pain get to our minds and convert into suffering. Suppose a person regularly has negative life experiences from a series of body illnesses. In that case, that means she has negative energy inside her due to some adverse action of her immediate or far-off past. This negative energy is at the present moment coming back to her in the form of negative scenes in her life. 

                             "We are healed of suffering only by experiencing it fully."

Rishona Chopra
Grade VI
Gyanshree School

The Creator - Rishona Chopra

The Universe, this earth, and us humans and: there is a creator for everything.
Who is that genius who creates all this?
It is a divine power - God.

A message from God:
"You thought I decided your destiny; whenever you had a problem, you blamed me for it and prayed to me to resolve it. Sweet children, I am your Father. Can I ever give you illness, poverty, abuse, conflict and natural calamities? Everything in your world works according to the Law of Karma. You are only getting a return for what you have done. You are the creators of your destiny. I can give you the wisdom and power to create a wonderful destiny. But you need to connect to me and study the wisdom I give."

In the winter months, it's chilly. We do not see the wind but perceive the wind (the effect) and conclude that air (the cause) must exist. Without air, there is no wind. Likewise, without God, there is no creation. 

God is the divine power that creates the base to help us as the creator. He gives us wisdom, kindness and empathy. We must build the tower of peace on the ground he gave us.

We, humans, are God's children. We are not the greatest. God creates the base of us, but we have to build it.

Rishona Chopra
Grade VI
Gyanshree

The Right Vision - Rishona Chopra

In Chinese folklore, there is the story of an ambitious young man who, on his twentieth birthday, became consumed with the desire to change the world. He spent the next 20 years trying to do that but couldn’t. At age 40, he settled for trying to change China. He spent the next 20 years trying to do that but couldn’t. At age 60, he settled for trying to change his village. For the next 20 years, he tried to do that but failed. At age 80, he decided to focus on changing his family. He spent the next 20 years trying to do that but couldn’t. At age 100, he decided to focus on changing himself. But the next day, he died.

We often try to change the world and others according to us, but we never try to change ourselves. But why? Because it is easier. It is easier to find faults with others, but it is difficult to

change ourselves.

Rishona Chopra

Grade VI

Gyanshree School

Swami and Friends - Anvesha Rana

Swami, Rajam and Mani are thrilled to have new bats, balls and wickets. The entire team is filled with exhilaration at the prospect of being able to practice with new equipment. The M.C.C. has no stop now; their victory has begun; everything is perfect from the Tate of the team to the Captain and till the picker of the ball until Swami once again dooms it all. 

No longer being a part of Albert Mission School, Swaminathan is burdened with homework, assignments, scout classes and drill classes; in the midst of all this, poor Tate hardly manages time out for cricket. Rajam, being a captain and a friend to Swami, is divided between his responsibilities. He can't scold Swami since it is not his fault, nor can he remove him from the MCC. 

The friends decide to persuade the Headmaster to permit Swami to leave school early because he has to practice cricket. Still, the Headmaster does not get through, and poor Swami is left without an allowance, with tons of assignments and no time for playing. 

Sometimes, we might feel lost amid the constant chaos around us, just like Swami, the way he did not see the vital thing, among other petty issues. Swami felt like quitting when surrounded by multiple tasks but when we feel like quitting, think about why you started? 

Continue with your purpose in life till your pot of wit is overflowing, not with material value but with lifetime value. Do not deem to fill the pot with I.Q., but realize to put some emotions, values, adversities and solutions because that is all that gives you wit. 

Anvesha Rana, 

Grade 10-B, 

Gyanshree School

Positive thinking - Rishona Chopra

Experiencing a life full of different events, which can be harmful at times, can be demanding and make life a difficult journey of ups and downs. We also realize that we can withstand and tolerate situations, and not only a few people but all of us try to some extent or the other. Of course, some of us fail entirely, also. 

There is no substitute for correct thinking when a difficult situation is in front of you. You think negatively but act according to the spiritual knowledge you have read. That will not make you successful in overcoming the situation. Inner habits of creating thoughts of fear, pessimism, hopelessness and impatience will not reduce, although we may temporarily feel positive based on what we have read or learnt. 

Inner habits are intense and have been inside the inner spiritual being or soul since many births. Each time we have performed an adverse action or created a negative thought, a sanskara was made based on that thought, word or action. This is the cycle of repetition. And this cycle keeps having a more powerful negative influence on us the more it is repeated. 

We must get out of this vicious cycle and convert these constant negative thoughts into positive ones. We have several goals, but the first goal should be to eliminate negative beliefs and replace them with positive ones. This takes a calm mind with determination. We should never think we can't be positive as we still have those qualities in us.

Rishona Chopra
Grade VI
Gyanshree School

Gratitude - Rishona Chopra

I am happy because I am grateful. I chose to be thankful. That gratitude allows me to be satisfied. - Will Arnett

Gratitude is to be thankful. We have so many things in our lives to be grateful for. In fact, everything we have we should be happy with!

We have a home to live in, 
We have goals that thrive, 
We have clothes to wear,
And we have the education to share!

The challenges that we face, 
Are just the base,
For us to become a divine soul,
And reach our primary goal!

This poem tells us that there are several things to thank for! Every happy and sad moment is a blessing, the tragic, challenging moments make you more resilient and mature, and the happy ones are for you to enjoy! 

The food we eat is a great blessing. Not everyone is lucky to get as delicious food as us. All of us have three meals a day. They sustain and nourish us to sit, move, speak, smile, and complete tasks. It is essential to love and respect what we eat for the way food serves us. We often find ourselves grumbling or judging the food on our plates. We reject it unawares with statements like – "I'm bored of eating this every morning, This dish is so bland, I wish my mother could cook better." We also worry or feel guilty – "I might put on weight. What if my sugar levels increase? This doesn't taste fresh. I hope I won't fall sick." Once we decide to eat, let's enjoy the food, not think of its effects. Let's create thoughts of gratitude and love before and while eating. The quality or quantity may not always be perfect. Never mind – we have enjoyed (and will continue to enjoy) thousands of delicious meals. The few imperfections should not change our respect for food.

Food that we eat every day is nutrition for our body. We choose what is healthy. We can determine what is tasty, but if we say we will be happy when we eat something specific, our happiness depends on our food. Sit back, and visualize yourself happy while having your meals and radiating happy energy into your food. We often create a point of irritation when we eat something which is not tasty for us. Food may not be delicious… but happiness or irritation is our choice. Practice today to not allow your food to influence your mind. Criticizing what you eat radiates negative energy to the food, which then affects your mind. Before every meal today, pause and reaffirm, "I am happy and calm as I eat my meal. I energize the food with my happiness."

Rishona Chopra
Grade VI
Gyanshree School

Never Give Up - Rishona Chopra

Nature has a lot to teach us; the spider teaches us to be patient and never give up. See how delicately a spider creates its web? Even despite failures, it is dedicated to making a home for itself. It is our habit to give up on the smallest of things. While playing snakes and ladders, we reach the top but finally get bit by a snake at 99, giving up trying again. When we complete the small things, the big stuff gets completed themselves.  

Have you told someone, or has someone told you – “You have made a particular habit since childhood, and you will never change.” Do you believe it is difficult or impossible to change a habit, especially if it is solid and old? First, we must change our pattern of saying, “I cannot change habits.” Absolutely any unhealthy or uncomfortable habit can be changed. Let’s not say “I have such an old habit of coming late… habit of gossiping… habit of being irritable… habit of skipping breakfast…So I cannot change.” 

Anything we repeatedly do becomes our habit. By avoiding or changing a few times, the old habit is finished. We need to constantly work on it even if we failed earlier. If we give up, it becomes more robust and weakens our willpower. Let’s confront our uncomfortable habits and ask ourselves – “Why should I change this habit? How to change? Do I want to change?” Once our want to change is substantial, changing becomes simple.

Is there anyone we know who has never changed a habit? Pretty sure there can be no one. Each of us has created certain habits and changed them for some reason. The wrong belief that we cannot change habits strengthens negative habits and blocks our transformation. Sit back and check how you control your habits and that your habits no longer hold you. As you check repeatedly and create thoughts of what you want your reality to be your willpower increases. You let go of uncomfortable habits, dependencies and addictions. You will easily be able to choose what stays on your mind. There will be no habit that you cannot change. You can get over deeper addictions, not just small habits like drinking too much tea or coffee or watching TV while eating. You will eventually become who you wish to be.

Rishona Chopra
Grade VI
Gyanshree School

The Art of Focus - Anvesha Rana

Handling other people is a tedious task, and that, too, with care becomes even more difficult. We expect the best treatment, facilities and equipment when it comes to us, but we seldom realize that to receive the best, we also need to treat others at our best. Treat others the way you wish to be treated. 

Each flower in a garden is unique, yet they all wave off different fragrances. All five fingers are not equal, yet they have additional capabilities to help us. Our unity lies in our diversity; we are together because we are different. We should learn to respect the differences of each individual and have the courage to be who we are and not be what others think we should be. 

Life is best seen as a constant journey in which sometimes we run, walk, crawl, slither, but all matters is that we keep going on. Even if sometimes we fall back and reach square one, we should have the strength to fight back and be even stronger because that is how we take our learning forward. 

Anvesha Rana, 

Grade 10-B, 

Gyanshree School

The Art Of Focus - Rishona Chopra

 

The Art Of Focus, is a skill to be in the present in the moment. It is quite important because our mind is a universe of thoughts, while doing something another thought pops up into our mind and we start pondering over it and forget about what we were doing. The ability to control our thoughts and be present from our mind is the Art Of Focus.In school, when the teacher is teaching, and we have a doubt, we stop listening to the teacher and start thinking about only our doubt and don't realize that our doubt was already explained! 

Apart from that, the book focuses on positive thinking...In today's chapter we read about how accepting death helps us overcome challenges in life. Of course it is difficult but it is a section of life and that is why we should always keep doing good deeds because what we do for ourselves dies with us but what we do for others continues and lives on forever. 

It is better to accept death happily because being sad won't change it.

Rishona Chopra

Grade VI

Gyanshree School

What makes me feel positive? - Rishona Chopra

My mother makes me positive, maybe sitting in her lap and reading a book make me feel positive. There is no reason for it; it's just her face that shines so bright and makes me smile. She, for me, is the most spiritual person I know and the most positive person too. Seeing her, I feel that everything in the world is just great. It gives me positivity and hope.

This is for you, 

When anything happened, you knew.
You taught me to be true,
And that's how I grew
You cared for me,
You are the one that makes me feel free!
The kindest one ever,
When I needed you, you were always there whatsoever. You make me positive, You are so progressive, You give me a new sense of hope, There is no one like you on the globe! There is no reason for this, It's just a natural bliss, That's probably why you are my mother, You are like no other! Rishona Chopra Grade VI Gyanshree School

The Art of Focus - Anvesha Rana

The Art of focus is a piece of advice, 

for life and for the next generational resize, 

It can be passed on because we might change, 

but our values will nevertheless be the same. 

We need focus in our lives, not for success, 

but for a family, for happiness and for building a fortress, 

Without focus, we are inhumane and uncertain, 

like a play without a curtain. 

Stories can be your guide into another world, 

They can make you believe what you thought you never would, 

You'll find your moments and live up to them, 

You'll find your gratitude and treat it as a hem. 

Focusing on the present will make you someone new, 

for neither the past nor the future will be now pursued, 

We'll learn to be better and better till we can then share it with others, 

for what is life without a teacher who isn't like a brother. 

Let's dive into finding our focus for it might be deep down, 

or it might be on the top which just needs a little jerk, 

If we have focus we will not want to be the winner on the field, 

but we will want to be the winner in life. 

Anvesha Rana, 

Grade 10-B, 

Gyanshree School

Spirituality - Rishona Chopra

Spirituality is not about praying to God or meditation. It is about the values we inculcate in ourselves. Humility, Hope, Love, Happiness, and all other values. It is being free from all clutter and learning to control our minds. 

Spirituality is also about connecting to God, not through prayers but through our minds, talking to them as if they were our parents, our closest friends who wouldn't reveal our secrets to anyone. Whenever I am worried about a test or upset or angry, I try to talk to God by just speaking out all my feelings in my mind. You don't need to go to a temple or even pray.

Leave this chanting and singing and telling of beads!
Whom dost thou worship in this lonely dark corner of a temple with shut doors?
Open thine eyes and see thy God is not before thee!
He is there where the tiller is tilling the hard ground, and the path maker is breaking stones.
He is with them in the sun and in the shower,
and his garment is covered with dust.
Put off thy holy mantle and, like him, come down on the dusty soil!
Deliverance?
Where is this deliverance to be found?
Our master himself has joyfully taken upon him the bonds of creation;
he is bound with us all forever.
Come out of thy meditations and leave aside thy flowers and incense!
What harm is there if thy clothes become tattered and stained?
Meet and stand by him in toil and the sweat of thy brow.
- Rabindranath Tagore 

This is a poem by Rabindranath Tagore which tells us how to connect with God and the meaning of spirituality.

Rishona Chopra  
Grade VI 
Gyanshree School